Relatively recent advances in shaving systems have included a variety of dynamic razors wherein one or more of a guard member, seat blade, and cap blade, move in response to forces encountered during shaving. Various systems which have been disclosed change the shaving angle of one or more of the blades, the span and/or the blade exposure in response to shaving forces.
One such system described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,255 to Jacobson comprises a movable guardbar, and two movable blades, all of which are spring loaded in a supporting structure for movement in response to forces encountered during shaving. The sharpened blades are welded to blade supports which contact upwardly biased leaf springs. The movable guard member and blades are maintained within the supporting structure by metal bands which wrap around the ends of the cartridge. When the movable blades encounter forces during shaving, the blades are urged downwardly into the support structure to less aggressive shaving positions in order to minimize the risk of causing nicks and cuts. In light of the welding steps and the number of separate pieces which must be assembled during the manufacture of this cartridge, it would be desirable to provide a dynamic shaving system which can be manufactured quickly and at relatively low cost.
Since the skin-engaging elements of the aforementioned system move independently, forces exerted on one skin-engaging element will not cause other skin-engaging elements to take less aggressive positions. It would therefore also be desirable to provide a shaving system wherein the position of more than one skin-engaging element will be changed by movement of a single skin-engaging element.
It would also be desirable to provide a shaving system which provides a safer shave than a conventional two-blade cartridge.
These and other advantages are described below.